It's Basketball Time Again!

It's that time of year again-time for basketball!!! I'm so excited for this season! Matthew has had 2 games so far and his team won both games! The first game I think Matthew was still getting back into the swing of things and remembering everything he learned from last year and this year's practices. The second game he was right there in it, taking the ball down the court, passing, rebounding. It was great to see him have so much FUN. That is what I love best about watching the boys play sports, when you watch them you can just tell they are having a blast. With the activities the boys do I often see other kids who look bored or just plain miserable. I feel awful when I see that, I wish they were having fun too! When you look at my boys they are smiling and jumping (and even dancing-MATTHEW! haha). I love it!

Here's a picture of Matthew from his game the other day..go Matthew! He's the one dribbling the ball.

Mommy's boys

Though I titled this entry "Mommy's boys" my sons actually really aren't mommy's boys..they are more of daddy's boys...however, as you other mom's of boys know there is definitely a special bond between a mother and a son. I would say Matt Jr. is a total Daddy's boy, they are two peas in a pod. Riley is more of a mommy's boy out of the two of them.

The older they get the more reasons I find to love having sons. I can't imagine it any other way. I love my boys :-)

Nicknames

As a huge fan of the show Seinfeld and an even bigger fan of George Costanza, I fondly remember the episode in which George wants a nickname. Not just any nickname but the nickname "T Bone" infact. It's interesting how people get tagged with certain nicknames. It's one of those things you don't really get to choose for yourself, though some of us may try to influence it a bit (like George!).

I guess my main nickname would be Wiffy because Matt is just too cool to use "Wifey" like most people-I much prefer Wiffy any day! Matt, however, has a million nicknames. Some I'm sure he would be too embarassed for me to type out here, and I'm sure are quite embarassing when I yell them when we are in the middle of Walmart.

The boys have quite a few nicknames as well.

Matthew AKA:
Buddy (a nickname both the boys share)
Daffew
Daff
Dafferoni
Daffinator
Stink

Riley AKA:
Buddy
Smiley Riley
Rye Rye
Ryes
Rye
Riley butt

Those are the main nicknames we have, but I'm sure there are more that I am forgetting as I'm typing this. All of these names came about for different reasons but most of them came from the songs I make up about the boys. Now, the cats are getting in on it and if I sing to get the boys out of bed their cats will come in the room and try to wake them up!

I wonder if on Matthew's graduation day I'll still be calling him Dafferoni...I hope so :-).

School boys

In that time when the boys were babies up until they were school age, I felt like that time would last forever. We spent all day, every day together. We woke up, ate together, played together, went to the store together, everything together. The only people my kids knew were family members. During that time that was our world, they were mine and I was theirs. All of a sudden in the blink of an eye I was putting Matthew on a school bus. Then before I could get used to that the time came to send Riley off on a school bus too. Now their world has expanded to include teachers and friends, it's not just us anymore. That's a scary thought! So many things change when they start going to school. You learn just how important all the little moments and lessons you taught them really are. I think the boys have definitely adapted better to being school boys than I have!



Matthew has many friends at school and does really well with his school work. I have his school work hanging up in the kitchen. Every time he brings home a great school paper I can't help but to think back to when he was learning to write his name or when he would draw stars all over the wall instead of on paper! He is such a smart kid, and though he rushes through a lot of things, he has a really great work ethic-he understands that practicing makes you better and he has a drive to be in his words "the best, the fastest..." etc. at everything he does.

Riley loves school too, but I won't pretend it doesn't feel good when he some times says that he wants to stay home because he will miss me or when he jumps off the bus and yells "mommy!!!" or tells the teacher that rides with them "my mom is here, there she is!!!" He is always really proud and excited when he brings home his paintings or projects. He surprised us all when he came home writing and spelling his name! Though some times he is shy about it, perhaps the best thing is when he will sing us a song that he learned at school.





Matthew looks so highly annoyed that I'm taking this picture! There they are, my two school boys. Life is certainly different since the days we spent all day together, and though they are growing up so fast and are getting more and more independent, they will both always be my babies, even when they are my age...and something tells me that Matthew will still be making that face from this picture when I tell him so!

My two sons

If someone would have told self proclaimed "indoor girl," me that I would end up having two sons, well I guess that wouldn't have shocked me all that much. However, if someone told self proclaimed "indoor girl," me that I would end up having two sons and enjoying the dirt, mess, outdoors, bugs, and general grossness that comes along with having little boys...now that might have shocked me. Now here I am with 7 and 4 year old sons and loving everything about it. I truly believe that I was meant to have boys so not only could I give them the best parts of me, but they could bring out things I never would have otherwise known about myself. Some of the biggest things have been that I never would have known just how much gross unidentified liquids or bugs placed in my hand, or grass stained clothes I could handle if it weren't for my boys :-).

Still, I'm not deprived of doing so called "girly" things that I enjoy. Infact Riley loves to make crafts and jewelry with me and he loves to watch me put on my make up. Matthew is great to take along to the craft store when you need to pick out what color to use or which project to make and he enjoys listening to mommy's music. Of course they both always have an opinion of what I should do with my hair...cut it or leave it long, keep the red or maybe go for a change?

I have opened myself up to many new things because of the boys. Through that we've been able to find things we all enjoy doing as a family like fishing, something I never would have thought to do or even thought I could do.

So, I may still be a pretty girly "indoor girl" that loves sparkles, purple, and jewelry, but thanks to the boys I can also get dirty and be gross with the best of them.

one of the many songs for the boys and Matt but I think it fits us perfectly:

The introduction post

I guess every good blog starts with an introduction post. This is not my first venture into "blogging." I have had a different blog since 2001 that was more of an online diary than anything else. However, it has remained pretty inactive for the last 4 years. I'm hoping starting this new blog will be an exciting new way to keep up with my friends and family and I'm hoping that same of you will not only read this blog but make blogs of your own! I'm not yet sure how I plan to use this blog, as I've said I've already done the online diary and maybe I will use this for that purpose somewhat, but I'm really not quite sure yet.

I guess the best way to start is to introduce myself and my family.

My name is Katie and I am 26 years old. I am a wife to Matt, who I met when I was 15 years old, and a mother to my wonderful sons Matthew and Riley.

I have what some might call an "old soul." I love photography, crafts, and just doing anything creative. I love my family and feel incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful sons. I love cats, the color purple is more than just my favorite color it's somewhat of an obsession, and I absolutely love music.

My husband is Matt and he is 29. He works really hard at his job. He loves the outdoors and tries to get me to be less of what I call "an inside girl." He did mange to get me in to fishing last summer and now I love it! He is a wonderful dad to the boys and a great husband to me :-).

Matthew is my oldest son, he is 7 years old. Matthew is a mini-Matt in so many ways but definitely has some of me thrown in there too (like being a picky eater!). Matthew loves being outside and playing any sport but he especially loves fishing. He is currently in 1st grade and does really well in school. It amazes me how smart he is.

Riley is my youngest son, he is 4 years old. Riley is my cuddle bug and likes to do everything that mommy is doing. Riley is currently in preschool and says his favorite thing about school is "the food". Riley loves to help me when I am crafting and he likes to be everyone's little helper.

So, that's a little introduction to the family. Hope to start making updates very soon!